Dong Zong should lose the battle to win the war

I hope there can be some sort of de-escalation before the start of Chinese educationist group Dong Zong's congress objecting to the implementation of Jawi lessons in vernacular schools next year.

The congress is slated to be at the New Era University College in Kajang tomorrow. 

I’ll spend a little time talking about a forum I attended on Thursday night, titled "Forum Jawi: Saling Memahami" (Jawi Forum: Understanding One Another), and then transit to what can still be done before tomorrow's event.

I think the rarity of having a multiethnic diverse panel to talk about the contentious issue of Jawi was something of a refreshing change from the norm.

Instead of the usual format where each panellist gives a mini-lecture to the audience one after the other, this forum was held in a more roundtable-style. 

The panellists were encouraged to talk and respond to one another. The idea and ethos of the event was to share from the heart, seek mutual understanding, and work to find common ground.

One of the most surprising and notable attendees was Education Ministry (Policy and Curriculum) deputy director-general Habibah Abdul Rahim (below).

Habibah made the effort to venture into the lion’s den, from some perspectives, despite being invited at the last minute.

Her presentation was professional and provided a rare insight into the often underestimated quality of work that happens at the ministry level.

Dong Zong was represented by its secretary-general Ng Chai Heng, who gave a heartfelt presentation that sought to clear up many misconceptions about Dong Jiao Zong and their event tomorrow. 

He spoke eloquently about the role of school boards and the shift from the multicultural to the monocultural approach towards teaching calligraphy.

The other participants included Tamil Foundation president K Arumugam, Ikram deputy president Badlishah Sham, KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall exco member Isabella Pek, and Abim president Faisal Aziz. 

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia chairperson Zaid Kamaruddin gave an invigorating opening address.

Among the key themes discussed were the many bigger issues in Malaysia that needed addressing, especially in the field of education.

Many spoke movingly about their personal experiences with diversity, learning different languages (Badlishah and Faisal demonstrated their ability to count to 10 in Tamil and Cantonese respectively), and intercultural encounters.

As the night went on, the panellists starting getting closer to the real heart of the issue.

There was a frank acknowledgement that this conflict was not really about Jawi per se, but about what Habibah called a trust deficit, and Ng described as deep underlying fears.

A family protesting against Jawi script implementation in vernacular schools.  

The panellists spoke frankly about fears of Islamisation, as well as how and why Dong Zong creates unease among the Malay-Muslim community.

I would love to expand on each panellist’s contributions, but at this juncture, I think many of us are still hopeful that there will some form of de-escalation or gesture on the part of Dong Zong.

Of course, this is not to say Dong Zong is in the wrong or is the "unreasonable party" in this equation, not in the very least. As Ng explained convincingly, they have genuine concerns that should be heard out.

In the context of the bigger picture, however, the fact that the Education Ministry has changed the policy regarding teaching Jawi no less than five times since the matter has been raised (most recently in this last week) should be taken as a gesture of good faith. 

If the gesture is reciprocated in some way, it would earn Dong Zong a lot of points and goodwill amongst the greater majority of Malaysians.

Allow me the impertinence of a small piece of advice.

People tend to only see the big picture — the one-line headline, the general idea from afar.

Dong Zong has many eloquent, refined, and detailed arguments in justifying their event, including that it is a closed-door affair, consultative in nature, has no speakers from the floor, and that it is about school boards, not about Jawi per se.

For all these fine arguments, however, I am confident that most Malaysians will still only see and react to the big picture (however inaccurate) that Chinese groups are organising a big event to challenge Jawi.

In essence, by this point, Dong Zong is losing control of the narrative.

Already, more hardline groups like Sekat and a gathering of Pekida-type Malay groups are organising rallies that we can be certain will be more emotional and one-sided than Thursday’s forum. 

There is now talk of rowdy counter-protests spilling over to the streets of Kajang, with every possibility of turning violent.

At that point, it won’t matter whose "fault" it is, we all have lost.

Regardless of what Dong Zong’s true intentions are, by this point, there must be a recognition that this has grown beyond them, and the fallout may backfire rather than help their ultimate goal.

In practical terms, one form of de-escalation that will not be seen as capitulation is to simply postpone the event. This will open the door and allow the Education Ministry to negotiate without appearing like they are losing face.

Of course, we don’t want a culture where people simply back down because rowdy protesters threaten them.

I’m sure at this point, "saving face" becomes important.

For Dong Zong, we can only hope that they decide to play the long game here.

De-escalating this weekend will surely anger some internal hardliners, but I have a feeling the middle ground, even within Dong Zong, will see long-term benefits of avoiding an escalation of conflict.

Even if there is some element of loss in doing some sort of de-escalation, surely it is worth losing a small battle, to win the war.

Dong Zong has a legitimate right to continue promoting their mother tongue education. While some of us may have been a little uncomfortable with the idea of a multistream education, a good deal of exposure has helped me to understand its value and recognise that it is far from incompatible with national unity.

If we want to realise that ultimate goal of persuading the rest of Malaysia that mother tongue education can go hand in hand with national unity, then let us be prepared to make a few sacrifices in pursuit of our ultimate goal.

In doing so, as amply demonstrated by Thursday’s forum, I am confident we can get Malaysians of all colour and creed to celebrate how our diversity strengthens us.

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NATHANIEL TAN is a communications consultant who occasionally dreams impossible dreams. He can be reached at nat@engage.my. - Mkini